


(You look) Happier

by TwentyOnePotatoes



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sad, cuteness, josh makes ty happy, sad but gets better
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2018-11-09
Packaged: 2019-08-04 15:53:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 8,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16349654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwentyOnePotatoes/pseuds/TwentyOnePotatoes
Summary: Tyler Joesph is that one kid who sits alone at lunch because no one likes him or wants to be his friend. Tyler Joesph is that kid who gets pushed and shoved around in the halls and usually shows up with new bruises everyday. Tyler Joesph is that kid whose parents don't give a shit about him. Tyler never thinks that he will be happy, that is until the new kid, Josh Dun, shows up.





	1. Chapter One: I Can Never Be Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Trigger warning for depressive/suicidal thoughts

Tyler POV 

The only time I can feel okay is when I'm standing over the cliff near my house and staring into the lake next to it. It's the only time I can be free. My life isn't all that great because I'm Tyler Joesph, and Tyler Joesph is that one kid who sits alone at lunch because no one likes him or wants to be his friend. Tyler Joesph is that kid who gets pushed and shoved around in the halls and usually shows up with new bruises everyday. Tyler Joesph is that kid whose parents don't give a shit about. I'm that one kid that is never happy.   
I just got kicked out of my house again after my parents found out that I had failed my last test. That's been happening a lot lately. I don't have any motivation to do well in school anymore. Sometimes I wonder why I haven't run away or killed myself yet. It's inevitable really.  
I'm pretty used to them kicking me out, and I have found a spot by the beach near my house that I always go to. It's a small cliff that is slightly hidden by plants, so no one ever goes there. It has a really nice view over the water, and during sunset the sky turns into a beautiful mixture of blue, purple, and orange hues.   
On this particular occasion, my parents told me to not come back until they were asleep, so that they wouldn't have to see me. I didn't really mind, if I were to go back there any earlier, than they would probably just scream until I ran out the house anyways.   
It was now sunset, and I was just staring blankly at the water. In the distance, there was a ship passing by, probably delivering supplies or food. There was a faint breeze, and I stood up, outstretching my arms to enjoy it. I closed my eyes and just stayed like that for a while.   
If life was this peaceful for me, I would never take anything for granted. If I could just have one friend, I would never complain. I wish I could just have a better life, but I don't, and I just have to accept that. I have to accept that I may never be happy.   
——  
When I got back home, I managed to escape the wrath of my parents. I climbed up the creaky stairs of my house and got into bed before falling into a fitful sleep.

The next day at school was hell for me. I didn't even make it to first period before I was being shoved against the lockers and punched in the face. I was so used to this by now though, so it didn't hurt too bad, just left awful bruises that everyone stared at. I hated how their eyes only showed pity. No one ever showed care. If they cared, they could at least try to say something, instead of just stare at me all day.  
After whoever was punching me this time(so many people do now that I don't even know half their names), I headed off to my first period, history. I didn't mind history, the teacher was nice enough. It was pretty boring though, so I just zoned out the entire class. It's not like I even care about getting a good grade anymore.  
I was late to class, so everyone was staring at me with their pitiful eyes. I hated  those eyes so much. My teacher looked at me to ask why I was late, but when she saw the forming bruise on my face, she closed her mouth and went on with her lesson.   
I walked to the back of the class to where my seat was. Usually I sat alone and no one sat next me, but today there was a guy sitting in the seat next to mine. I've never seen him in this class before, so he must be new. He had a muscular build, and a mop of red fluffy hair on the top of his head. The most noticeable feature though, his mocha eyes showed...concern. That was new. No one ever looked at me liked they cared before. It was nice I guess. I finally sat down in my seat, tearing my daze away for the guy.   
I could feel his gaze on me periodically throughout the whole lesson. It truly felt like he cared, like he wanted to help. But that couldn't be. No one cared about me. No one wanted to be my friend. So at the end of my class when the guy put a hand on my shoulder and asked if I was okay, I almost didn't register it in my head.   
"Are you okay?" The guy asked.  
"Oh-um, yeah, I'm fine," I stuttered out as I scrambled away. I didn't really like new new people, and I always just made a fool of myself in the end, so I just didn't talk to people much.  
I didn't see the guy the rest of the day, so I figured he just forgot about it. I kinda felt bad that I left him hanging, but I doubt that he really cares that much.  
When I got home, my parents were home, and they seemed mad. Must've been a bad day at work. I decided I didn't want to deal with them today, so I quickly sneaked past their room, where they were sitting and screaming at each other, and put my bag in my room before rushing out the door and to my spot.  
I still question to myself why my life is like this. I know that it's never going to change. I know that it's never going to get better. I know that I'm never going to be happy.


	2. Chapter Two: The Cliff

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: I wrote a part of this fic for an English assignment and got an A on it

Josh POV 

Today is my first day at my new school. My parents move a lot for their job, so I’m pretty used to adjusting to new environment.  
When I get to the office at the school, the receptionist hands me my schedule and vaguely tells me where to go. She seemed really uninterested, but I could figure it out with the map she gave me.  
I took a look at my schedule and saw that I had history first period. Great. I hated history, I don’t understand why we need to learn so much about the past. Anyways, I found my way to history and went to talk to the teacher. She directed me to go sit in one of the seats in the back, and I went and sat down.  
Class started a few minutes later and I was already getting bored. I started zoning out when I heard the door creak open. In the doorway stood the most adorable person I’ve ever seen. He had brown fluffy hair that was somewhat tucked under the hood of his black hoodie. He stood kinda slumped over, like he was tired, which makes sense, since it was first period, but then I saw a big bruise across his face and immediately got concerned.   
Nobody said anything about it, even though it was clearly noticeable, which made me think that this was a regular thing. He started to make his way to where I sat and sat down in the seat next to me. He looked up at me and I stared into his beautiful brown eyes for a few seconds. The boy eventually looked away and kept his head down the entire class. I kept stealing glances at him every so often. I was extremely worried about him. Sure I’ve seen people at school with bruises like that before, but the teachers and students actually did something about it back then.  
At the end of class, I knew I had to say something to him. Ask him if he was okay at least. I walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder, which made him slightly flinch.  
“Are you okay?” I asked, concern in my voice.  
The boy stared at me for a few seconds before stuttering out an “I’m fine” and running off.   
That was all I saw of him that day in school, but he was in my head all day. I was so confused why no one did anything about it. I just wanted to help him.  
I walked home after school and put my stuff away. I didn’t have too much homework since I was new and didn’t know much of the material, so I decided to take a walk around my neighborhood and explore. We lived close to a lake, so I figured I could go there and see what the beach was like.  
When I finally made the ten minute walk to the beach, I just sat down and stared at the water for a bit until I got bored. I got up and saw that there were some paths up by were the cliffs were, so I decided to see where those would lead me.  
I was walking for about fifteen minutes when I saw something. A shade of black behind a couple bushes. I went to go see what it was, and turns out it was the boy from class earlier. I had to go to him, I don’t know why, but I really felt like I needed to help him.   
I tentatively approached him and sat down next to him. He flinched again and shot his head up to look at me. When I met my eyes, he instantly calmed down and looked back at the water.   
“Are you really okay?” I asked softly. He didn’t answer for a while, as if in thought.  
“N-not really,” he said so quietly that if I wasn’t paying attention I wouldn’t have heard him.  
We didn’t say anything for a while until I spoke up again.  
“Is there anything I could do to help?” I asked.  
“I don’t know,” he answered. “I don’t even know who you are,” he said glancing shyly at me.  
“My name is Josh, I just moved here a few days ago,” I said smiling calmly at the boy.  
“I’m Tyler,” he answered ducking his head a bit.  
“Nice to meet you Tyler,” I said brightly.  
We sat in a calm silence for a while just staring at the water and the sunset. I thought that we would have any more conversation when Tyler started to speak.  
“I come here a lot,” he started. “It’s where I go when things get...too much I guess.”  
“What do you mean too much?” I asked hoping I wasn’t pushing too many boundaries.  
“Well, I guess when I have a bad day at school, or somethings happening at home. I don’t really have any friends or a good relationship with my parents,” he said quietly.  
“I can be your friend,” I said to him.  
He paused, “You’re just going to leave eventually, everyone else does that.”  
“Well I’m not like everyone else,” I responded. “Not everyone has this mop of red on their head so they?” I said, hoping to get a smile from him.  
“No,” he said smiling cutely. “I guess not,” he looked up at me and our eyes met again. We just kinda sat like that for a few minutes before Tyler looked away and back into the sunset. I followed his gaze and we watched it together. After a few minutes, I saw his hand sitting on the ground and I carefully placed my hand on top of his, as if to say that I was there for him. I looked down at our hands and smiled at me again. I smiled back at him, and knew I felt something. Whether it be affection or something else I don’t know. But I knew that I would do what ever I had to do to protect Tyler. No matter what.


	3. Chapter Three: Why Does It Always Have To Be This Way?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for abuse and self harm

Tyler POV

I didn’t know why I trusted Josh so much already. I just met him and yet I already trusted him with my life.   
We were still sitting on the cliff by the time the sun went down. We had managed to slowly scoot closer to each other so that our sides were pressed together. His hand stayed on top of mine the whole time. It made me feel...safe I guess. It felt like if anything were to happen to me, he would protect me. But the couldn’t be right, right? No one cares about me, but I’d like to think that Josh does.  
As the sky got darker, I grew more and more anxious. I knew that I had to go home sometime, but I really didn’t want to go. I just hope my parents were asleep by now. I also didn’t really want to leave Josh. He was really nice, and he’s the first person to ever actually care about me. It was nice, even if it might be fake.   
My thoughts were interrupted by Josh speaking up. “Hey, I should really be going home now,” he said.  
“Oh, okay,” I said trying to hide the sadness it my voice. I guess I didn’t do that good of a job of that since Josh’s eyebrows furrowed at me.  
“You could maybe come with me if you wanted? My mom should be done with dinner soon, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind if you tagged along,” Josh offered. I didn’t really know what to say. I’ve never been invited anywhere before, but I knew I didn’t want to go back home.  
“Sure,” I said giving him a small smile. He smiled back at me before standing up and offering his hand to help me up. When I stood up, our hands didn’t separate, and we both just kinda stood there staring at our hands before Josh coughed.  
“So, uh, lets go then?” He said, our hands separated.  
“Yeah, lets go,” I responded.  
We walked to his house in mostly silence, but it was a comfortable silence. I usually don’t like silence, it always makes it become to loud in my head, but with Josh, it was actually really peaceful.   
We got to his house (which was only about a two minute walk from mine) and went inside. We were instantly greeted by his mother, who the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her face.   
“Hi mom, this is Tyler, is it okay if he stays for dinner?” Josh said.  
“Of course! Welcome Tyler!” Josh’s mom said cheerfully.  
“Thanks for letting me stay over,” I said quietly.  
“Of course! Any of Josh’s friends are welcome!” She said going back over to finish cooking.  
“C’mon, we can go sit in my room until dinner,” Josh said smiling at me. Josh led me up the stairs to his room. He opened the door me me and gestured for me to go inside.  
“We just got here a few days ago, so my rooms not really finished,” Josh explained as I sat down on his bed while looking around the room. There were some unopened boxes in the corner of his room, but he already had most of his room finished. There were some posters on the walls, his desk was against the wall with the window, and his bed had all its colorful sheets and was nicely made.  
“I like your room,” I said.  
“Thanks,” he responded, while going to sit next to me. “So, how are you feeling? If that’s okay to ask.”  
“I don’t really know,” I sighed. “I haven’t been doing well in a long time, I don’t think I even remember what it feels like.”  
“Do you want to talk about it?” He asked. I paused. I’ve never talked about it before. I already told him that I get bullied and don’t have a good relationship with my parents, but I don’t really go into detail. What if he starts to think I’m just a sad loser like everyone else does? But he doesn’t seem like the type of guy to do that. I’m just not sure, I don’t really trust people that easily.   
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Josh continued, seeming to sense my distress.  
“Thanks,” I said. I looked down at our hands that were just inches apart. I placed my hand on top of his and he smiled before grabbing my hand and holding it in his own. I took a deep breath. Somehow the action was so grounding for me. It made me feel so calm. I guess it really did calm me down, cause the next thing I knew was walking up to Josh’s mom calling us down for dinner with my head against Josh’s shoulder. Must’ve fallen asleep. I quickly shot up and started to mumble apologies.  
“Hey, hey, calm down, it’s alright. You looked like you really needed to sleep, its okay,” Josh said placing his hand on my shoulder and softly rubbing there. His words calmed me down and I closed my eyes and nodded. “C’mon, lets go eat.”  
I followed Josh down the stairs to the dining room. Sat at the table was Josh’s mom, and four other people. I assumed they were Josh’s dad and siblings.   
“Everyone, this is Tyler. Tyler, that’s Jordan, Abby, Ashley, my dad, and obviously my mom,” Josh introduced. Everyone said a friendly hello to me, and I said a hello back shyly. Josh and I sat down next to each other, which I was grateful for since I get really shy around lots of new people.   
We all started to eat and get into a nice conversation. I wasn’t really used to big conversations with lots of people, but I tried. It was nice to talk to people so nice to me and feel like I actually belonged for once.  
After dinner, Josh and I went back to his room. I sat down on the bed before I yawned and laid down.  
“You still tired?” Josh asked.  
“Yeah, a bit,” I responded sleepily.  
“I can take you back home if you’d like?” He offered. I tensed up. It wasn’t that late yet, which means my parents were probably still awake. They were in a bad mood when I left, and since I haven’t been there to be their verbal and physical punching bag, they’re probably still in a bad mood. But I have to leave Josh’s house eventually, so might as well just get it over with.  
“Y-Yeah, that’d be good, thanks,” I responded quietly.  
“Alright, I can drive you so we don’t have to walk,” Josh said before leading me outside to where his car was parked.  
We started driving with me telling him where to go until we reached my house.  
“So I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Josh smiled at me as I stepped out of the car.  
I couldn’t help but smile back with a, “Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
“Bye Tyler,” He said.  
“Bye Josh,” I responded. I watched as he drove off before I walked up to my house. I glanced through the window that led into the living room and saw my parents sitting on the couch. That meant that once I open the door, I will be immediately met them. There was no avoiding it. But I have to do it eventually.   
I slowly opened the door in case there was any hope in me sneaking away to my room without being caught. But that Hope was quickly destroyed when I heard the harsh yell of my dad screaming, “Tyler!”  
I sighed knowing what was a spur to happen.  
“Where the hell have you been!” He screamed storming up to me and slapping me across the face. The slap was so hard that I fell to the ground.  
My mom decided to join and came up to us. When she saw me on the ground she glared at me.  
“Pathetic,” she scoffed at me.  
“You still haven’t answered my question,” my dad started. He came down to my level and grabbed a chunk of my hair and pulled on it. “Where. Have. You. Been?” He asked pulling my hair more after every word.  
“I-I w-was at a f-friends house,” I stuttered out of fear. Thankfully my dad let go of my hair and dropped me back to the ground.  
“Bullshit!” My mom screamed kicking me in the stomach. I rolled over in pain, but she wouldn’t stop. “You don’t have any friends! No one could ever like a shitty excuse of a person like you!” She continued. She kept kicking me al over and my dad decided he wanted to hurt me as well. He walked over to one of our closets and pulled out a club. Oh no. I knew what this meant. I was just so much pain that I wouldn’t be able to see straight. They both kept kicking and hitting me while I was begging them to stop. I know I wouldn’t convince them though, unfortunately it only made them angrier. So angry that my dad yelled at me to shut up before hitting me over the head with the bat. That’s the last thing I remember before blacking out.  
When I woke up, I had no idea how much time has passed. It must’ve been a while since all the lights were off and I could hear the faint snores of my parents from upstairs. I slowly stood up, the pain making it harder, but I managed. I walked by one of the clocks and saw that it was 1:00 AM. I made my way upstairs, still being quiet in case my parents woke up. I went to my room and then to my bathroom to see how bad it looked. I turned on the light and looked in the mirror. I had another bruise across my face to match the one from a few days ago, and there was dried blood around my nose. I took off my clothes to see the damage underneath. My stomach was so badly bruised it had practically turned purple, my legs have a few bruises here and there, but it wasn’t as bad. I sighed as tears started to form in my eyes. At least they didn’t break any bones this time.   
I opened up one the the cabinets in the bathroom and stared at the razors inside. It was just part of the routine. My parents would beat me, than I would hurt myself to forget. I grabbed the razor and was about to cut myself when I thought about Josh.  
What he think about it? Would he even care? Another part of my brain told me that he wouldn’t care at all and I should just cut myself already. So I did. Again. And again. And again. Until I couldn’t feel the pain of my bruises anymore. I watched the blood pour out from my legs where I cut. I used to cut on my arms, but then people saw scars and I got into a lot of trouble for it. So I stopped using my arms and now I really only use my stomach and legs. I finally decided to get some sleep, so I cleaned myself up and put a bandage around the cuts so they would stop bleeding.  
I crawled into bed and when into a fitful sleep.  
——  
The next day when I woke up, I was in even more pain than last night. A part of me thought about skipping school, but that would mean facing the wrath of my parents when they find out that I did nothing all day, so I begrudgingly got out of bed. I threw on some random jeans and my black hoodie before grabbing my bag and making my way to the door. My parents were still asleep, so I didn’t have to worry about them. I went outside and started to walk to school. I was almost at school when I realized that Josh would see the new bruise on my face. He would probably question it and I don’t know what I would say. I realized I couldn’t let Josh see me, which would be hard considering we have first period together, but I have to try. I can’t lose the one and only friend I have.


	4. Chapter Four: You Can’t Know Me

Josh POV

I woke up the next day with a smile on my face. I really liked Tyler, he was such a sweet and nice person and all I wanted to do was keep him happy. I know he has some struggles that he doesn’t really want to tell me about quite yet, but I want him to know that he can always trust me.  
——  
I got to school and went to first period to find Tyler already there with his head down on the desk. I walked over to him and placed a hand on his back.   
“Hey,” I said softly. “You doing okay?” I asked gently not wanting to push him. He sniffled in response. Was he crying? I pulled him into a gentle hug and he just pushed me away.  
“Josh,” He croaked out. “I-I don’t want to drag you down with me problems, I can’t lose my only friend.”  
“Tyler you’re not gonna drag me down. I just want to help you,” I said.  
“I don’t think anyone could solve my problems. I’m sorry Josh, but I just can’t,” he whimpered out.   
I was about to respond when the teacher walked in and told us all to get to our seats. I gave Tyler a gentle rub on his shoulder before going back to my desk. I couldn’t focus on the lesson though, I was staring at Tyler the whole time. It was weird that he hasn’t lifted his face from his desk at all since I got here. But I won’t   
question it, he probably just doesn’t want people to know he was crying.  
The bell finally rang and I was gonna go try and talk to Tyler again, but before I had the chance he had run out of the room and was out of sight by the time I made it to the hallway.   
——  
I didn’t see Tyler again until lunch time. I was walking to the cafeteria a bit late since I had to talk to one of my teachers. That’s when I saw it. Tyler was surrounded by a bunch of buff looking guys and was getting beat up by them. I couldn’t just let that happen.  
“Stop that!” I yelled at them while running over.  
“Oh yeah? Why should we?” one of them snarled.  
“Because what did Tyler ever do to you?” I questioned.  
“Nothing, he’s just a loser and needs to be punished for it,” another guy said. Tyler whimpered at that, and that’s when I had enough. I stood in front of Tyler and acted as a shield for him.  
“Fine, then go through me first,” I glared at them. I was pretty strong and buff like these guys. I worked out almost everyday back where I used to live. We haven’t had time to set up our in house gym yet in the new place, but I was confident I could beat up these guys if I had to. I would do anything for Tyler.  
“Okay then,” one of them said as he tried to punch me in the face. I saw it coming though, so I grabbed his fist and pushed it away before punching him in the nose, causing it to start bleeding. The other guys stared in shock, probably because I’m assuming none of them have ever been beat up before.  
“If anyone ever tried to hurt Tyler again, you will all go through the same thing and worse,” I snarled. I glanced at the guy who I punched. His nose looked crooked which means I probably broke it. Whoops. But it was worth it to protect Tyler.  
Speaking of which, I grabbed his arm before storming away from the group. Once we were a safe distance away from them, I stopped and turned to ask Tyler if he was okay when I saw that he was crying.   
“Tyler,” I trailed off.  
“I’m so sorry Josh,” he cried. “I didn’t want you to get dragged into this.”  
“Shhh,” I soothed as I pulled him into a hug. I cradled his head to my chest and gently rubbing his back. We stayed like this until he calmed down enough to speak.  
“Thank you, f-for doing that, you really didn’t have to,” he said looking up at me.  
“But I wanted to, I want to protect you and keep you safe and happy,” I smiled at him. He smiled and blushed at that. He was so cute. I pulled him back into my arms and we hugged again.  
“I can’t take you back home if you’d like?” I offered figuring he wouldn’t want to go to class after what happened. His breathing sped up after I asked.  
“N-no, n-not my house,” he stuttered gripping onto me tighter.  
“Okay, okay shhh, we can go to my house then?” I soothed him. I didn’t know what it was, but I guess something bad was going on at his house.  
“Yeah, that would be better,” he said, finally calming down.  
“Alright, lets go,” I said. We started to walk outside and towards my house. When we were about halfway there, Tyler’s hand brushed against mine and he blushed. I smiled at him and grabbed his hand in my own. He seemed to relax more at the gesture, which made me happy.   
We eventually got to my house and I opened the door. We stepped inside and started heading to my room when I heard my mom’s voice.  
“Josh?” She questioned. “What are doing here? And why’s Tyler with you?”  
“It’s a long story,” I started, feeling Tyler’s hand tense up in mine. “I can explain to you later,” I continued, sensing Tyler’s distress.   
“Okay,” my mom replied, also seeming to see that Tyler was uncomfortable.  
Tyler and I headed up to my room and sat down on my bed. His head was down and his eyes were almost closed. He just looked so tired.  
“You can sleep if you want,” I said, rubbing my thumb over the top of his hand that was still I closed in mine.  
“Okay,” he said in a small voice. He kicked off his shoes and got under the covers. He fell sleep practically as soon as his head hit the pillow. I smiled at him before heading back downstairs to talk to my mom.  
“So what is this story?” My mom asked as she saw me from where she sat on the couch of our living room.  
“So, Tyler came to school today with this bruise on his face, I’m not sure where from, but I’m afraid it’s from his parents,” I started.  
“Okay, what makes you think that?” my mom questioned.  
“Well, I saw it in first period, so it’s unlikely that it was from bullies, and earlier when I mentioned his house, he tensed up a lot.” I continued.  
“Hmm,” my mom hummed in thought.  
“And we came back home cause Tyler was about to get beat up by bullies, but I stopped them, but he seemed really tuned out, so I thought it would be best if I took him home, and obviously I couldn’t take him to his own house, so we came here,” I finished. My mom was nodding to herself as I was talking.  
“Just keep him safe, okay? We don’t know the full story yet and I don’t want to make false assumptions,” she finally said.  
“I promise, I’ll always keep him safe,” I smiled before getting up to go check on Tyler.  
When I got close to room, I could hear small whimpers coming from it. I walked in and saw Tyler tossing and turning in the sheets and whimpering. Poor thing must be having a nightmare.  
“Tyler, hey, wake up, it’s just a dream,” I soothed to him while gently shaking his shoulder. He woke with a start. He seemed to be staring off into space for a bit before he burst into tears. I climbed on the bed next to him and held him in my arms.  
“Shh, you’re okay, it was just a dream,” I spoke gently to him. He kept crying g though, so I just held him and slowly rocked us back and forth until he calmed down.   
“You’re okay. Do you wanna talk about it?” I asked him once his breathing returned to normal. He shook his head no from where it was buried in my chest.   
“Okay,” I whispered softly to him. I laid us down, with him still in my arms. He laid curled up to my side with his head on my chest. My arms were around him rubbing his back as he slowly started to fall asleep again. Once he was asleep, I couldn’t bring myself to leave him in the state he was in, so I pulled him closer to me and fell asleep myself.  
——  
When I woke up about two hours later, Tyler was starting to stir awake. I smiled down at him as he opened his eyes and looked up at me.  
“Hey,” I said gently. “How’re you feeling?”  
“I’m a bit better,” he said sleepily. “Sorry about all that.”  
“It’s okay, nightmares happen,” I comforted him. “Besides, I liked cuddling with you, it seemed to make you happy, and if your happy, then I’m happy.”   
Tyler smiles at this and glanced out the window to see that it was still pretty bright outside.  
“What time is it?” He asked me.  
“About 3:00, why?” I responded.  
“Nothings, it’s just-I should probably go home soon so my parents don’t start to worry or anything,” he said. I could tell he wasn’t telling me the full truth, but I didn’t want to push him too much. I offered to drive him home, but he said he’d just rather walk.  
As Tyler left, I watched him leave from my doorway and couldn’t shake the bad feeling away. I felt like letting him go would not end well, but there wasn’t much I could do. I just hoped I didn’t discover more bruises on him tomorrow. I hope he stays safe.


	5. Chapter Five: Can It Finally Be Over?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for abuse and suicidal thoughts

Tyler POV

I knew leaving Josh’s house was a bad idea as soon as I stepped into my house. My parents were both there and they looked mad. I tried to step back outside before they could see me, but it was too late.  
“Can you explain to me why the hell we got an email saying that you missed class?” My mom sneered at me.  
“I-I..” I started.  
“Save it! I don’t want to hear it!” My dad yelled at me making me coward against the wall.  
“M’sorry,” I mumbled quietly.  
“I said to shut up!” My dad slapped me where the bruise from yesterday still was. The pain stung so bad, but I didn’t have time to think about it since he wouldn’t stop hitting me.  
I just fell to the floor and let him hit me, there was no point in trying to stop it. I just had to sit there and take it.  
——  
I woke up sometime later and it was still somewhat light outside. I must’ve passed out again. My parents were no where in sight, and I couldn’t hear them, so that was a good sign. I looked out the window and saw that their car was gone. They do this a lot. They like to beat me up and then leave to myself. At least I wouldn’t have to deal with them. I needed some fresh air though, so I decided to go to the one place that I’ve always felt safe in.  
——  
Once I got to the cliff it was almost dark outside, but it was really peaceful. There was no one around, so it was really quiet. It was nice, but also not. When it’s too quiet, my head gets really loud. I started to think about my parents. I needed to get out of there. I couldn’t handle it at this point.   
I stared off the cliff and contemplated what would happen if I were to just...jump off. I was seriously contemplating it when the thought of Josh crossed my mind. We just met and yet he already wants to just protect me. I didn’t really understand it, but I knew I couldn’t leave him. I had to stay alive for him.  
——  
I opened my eyes to birds chirping and daylight. Crap, I never went back home last night. I just hope that my parents don’t get too mad about that. Then I realized that I had to go to school still. I didn’t have my backpack or anything, but I had my phone in the pocket of my hoodie still. I checked the time. 10:00 AM. Well looks like I’m skipping today.   
I walked over to edge of the cliff and sat down dangling my legs over it. It was really peaceful over here. I wish I could stay here forever.  
——  
Josh POV  
I had been having a bad feeling ever since Tyler had left my house yesterday. That feeling increased when he didn’t show up for school today. I couldn’t focus all day, I could only think about Tyler. What happened to him? Was he okay? If I found him would I also find new bruises on him?   
Finally, school ended and I went to the first place I could think of to look for him. He doesn’t seem to see his house as home, but he did tell me he always feels safe at the cliff.  
Once I got to the cliff I started walking on the path to Tyler’s spot, and to my luck, he was sitting there.  
“Tyler?” I said slowly approaching him.  
“Oh, hey Josh,” he said turning to me and giving me a small smile.  
“Hey,” I said going to sit next to him. “Why weren’t you in school today?” I questioned.  
He froze at my question and his smile faltered. “I, um, I..I can’t tell you,” he eventually stuttered out. I smiled sadly at his response and scooted closer to him. I put my arm around him and held him towards me.  
“You know you can tell me anything, right?” I whispered softly to him.  
“I-I know it’s just....” he trailed off.  
“What is it?” I gently pushed him.  
He took a deep breath and leaned into me. “It was-it was my parents,” he finally said. “They...they beat me up, that’s where all the bruises came from, well that and bullies,” he continued. I subconsciously hugged him tighter.  
“Oh my gosh Ty. How long had this been going on?” I asked him.  
“Um...like forever? It was fine when I was really little, but I guess my parents stopped liking me as a grew up,” he responded sadly as tears started to form in his eyes. I pulled him nearly into my lap and he hugged me back burying his face into my neck as he cried.  
“I’m so sorry Ty, I promise I’ll make it better,” I soothed to him. He looked up at me sadly.  
“How?” he croaked.  
“I don’t know, but I need to get you out of there. You can stay with me and we can report them, okay? They can’t get away with this,” I said to him. He nodded as he buried his face back into my neck.  
I’m not sure how long we stayed like that, but soon enough I figured that we should head home.  
“C’mon, lets get home,” I said grabbing his hand and helping him up. He was still sniffling a little bit and leaned into me for comfort. I wrapped an arm around his shoulder and we walked home in a comfortable silence.  
We got home a little while later to find my mom and dad sitting in the living room. They both turned their heads towards us and I could tell my mom knew that something was up. We went upstairs to my room to talk.  
“So...what happened?” She asked us while closing the door to my room so that my siblings couldn’t hear.  
“Well, Tyler didn’t come to school today, and I got really worried, so I went to look for him,” I started looking at Tyler, who had his head on my shoulder and was looking down. My arm was still wrapped snugly around him. “I eventually found him and asked him what had happened and he told me that-“ I got cut off by Tyler.  
“I said that my parents beat me up,” Tyler said, finally looking up at my moms shocked gaze.   
“Oh my gosh...” my mom trailed off. “That explains the injuries then. I have to go report them, I’m sorry if that’s not want you want, but it needs to happen.”  
“No, it’s okay, I-I really don’t wanna go back there,” Tyler replied. My mom gave him a small smile and went downstairs to call the police.   
Once she left, Tyler flopped down onto the bed and closed his eyes.  
“Tired?” I asked him, gently taking my fingers through his soft brown hair.  
“Yeah,” he mumbled, leaning into my touch.  
I load down next to him and pulled the covers over both of us. He turned on his side so that he was facing away from me so that I could spoon him. I scored closer to him so that our bodies were touching. I let him use my arm as a pillow and my other arm was wrapped around his waist. He fell asleep within minutes.  
He was so cute when he was asleep. He just looked so much more relaxed. As I thought more about him, I realized that I was feeling a deeper affection towards the boy and it seemed like it was...love. I’d never realized I felt that way about Tyler before. Sure we had been pretty platonic since we met and I’ve known I was gay for a few years, but I didn’t really think it would be anything more than a platonic friendship. I guess I was wrong. I took a look at the sleeping boy and softly kissed his forehead.  
“Sleep well Ty,” I whispered to him before falling asleep with him.


	6. Chapter 6: What Are We?

Tyler POV

I woke up to a feeling of complete safety and comfort. I realized after a few seconds that it was because of Josh holding me from behind. I turned my head to look at him and saw that he was asleep. I turned in his arms to face him and buried my face into his warm chest.  
I guess my movements woke him up cause I felt a gentle and start to rake through my hair. I hummed at the peaceful gesture and turned to look up at Josh.   
“Hey,” he whispered to me. “How’re you doing?”  
“I’m okay I guess, everything’s just been happening so fast and it’s just sorta overwhelming,” I answered.   
“That’s understandable, a lot has happened today,” Josh said. We fell into a calm silence just holding each other. Eventually Josh turned so that he was on his back and pulled me so that my head was on his chest and I was curled up to his side.   
“This is nice,” I said quietly to him in relaxation.  
“Yeah, it is,” Josh sighed. It was quiet for a while before I spoke up again.  
“Josh?” I started. “What are we?”  
“What do you mean?” He asked.  
“Like, we cuddle all the time and stuff and you’re really affectionate to me and stuff, so does that mean we’re maybe, like...more than just friends?” I rambled.  
“Well, would you like to be?” Josh asked.  
“I-I don’t know, I think I maybe do,” I responded shyly. “Do you?” I asked.  
“If you want to,” he responded.  
“I do.”  
“Cool.” It was silent for a few seconds before Josh spoke up again. “Do you wanna be my boyfriend, Tyler?” He asked.   
“Yes!” I responded eagerly, hugging myself closer to him. He chuckled at me and hugged me closer as well.   
We were like that for a few minutes before Josh’s mom called us down for dinner. When we went downstairs we saw that it was just us and Josh’s mom.  
“Where’s everyone else?” Josh asked his mom.  
“I asked your dad to take them out for dinner so that we could all have a private conversation,” she answered. Josh and I sat down next to each other and held hands under the table.  
“So I called the police,” Josh’s mom started. “They said they would investigate it, but in the mean time, Tyler can stay with us.”  
Josh smiled at me and I smiled back at him. We were all eating dinner in relative silence when we heard the front door open. I bit my lip anxiously and Josh and his mom seemed to notice because Josh’s mom left the table and told us to go upstairs since we were almost finished eating while she went to go talk to the rest of Josh’s family. Josh and I headed back upstairs and sat on his bed.  
“Do you wanna watch a movie or something? I can play it from my laptop.” Josh asked me.  
“Sure,” I said.  
“We can change into more comfortable clothes first if you want, you can borrow something from me until we go get your stuff,” Josh offered.  
“Yeah, that’d be good, thanks,” I responded. He went to his closet and pulled out a shirt and sweatpants for both me and him. I grabbed the clothes, thanked him, and walked into the bathroom connected to his room. I did feel comfortable around Josh and all, it was just if he sawmill my scars I was afraid he’d leave me and not want to deal with the mess I am. Anyways, after I put the clothes on, I looked at myself in the mirror. I smiled at the extra fabric hanging off my shoulders, I don’t know why, but it made me feel like I belonged. Like Josh would always be there for me because I was his and he was mine.  
I stepped out of the bathroom to see Josh still changing. He had his back turned to me as he was putting on his shirt. I silently gawked at his muscles, he was honestly way to hot. He finished changing and turned to me. He was me staring and smirked at me.  
“Sorry,” I squeaked while blushing.   
“It’s okay,” he chuckled gesturing me to go sit on the bed with him. I sat down next to him as he set up a movie on his laptop.  
“What do you wanna watch?” He asked me.  
“I don’t know, whatever you want I guess. I never got to really watch movies when I was with my parents,” I answered. He hummed at my answer and turned on some random movie. Once the movie started playing, he put an arm around me and pulled to so sit closer to him. I put my head on his shoulder and put my attention to the movie. It was actually pretty entertaining, but I kept catching Josh staring at me.  
“What?” I asked him when I saw him staring at me again.  
“Nothing, you’re just really pretty,” he answered, making me blush and focus on the movie again. He chuckled and looked at the movie as well.  
Once it was over, it was pretty late, and I was getting really tired. Josh went to go put his laptop away and I crawled under the duvet to get comfortable. Josh came back into bed and laid down next to me. I turned to face him and put my head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close to him.   
“Goodnight Ty,” he whispered softly to me.  
“G’night,” I said sleepily. I adjusted myself on his chest so that I could listen to his heartbeat. It was such a calm and steady rhythm, which comforted me so much for some reason. I was so happy and relaxed in that moment and fell asleep within minutes.


	7. Chapter Seven: First Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's a fluffy filler. Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I have a lot of other things going on in my life rn so I probably won't be able to update as much as I used to.

Tyler POV

"Tyler! Get over here right now!" My dad screamed at me as I tried to run out the door. I was too late though, and he grabbed my leg and pulled me back, causing me to fall to the floor and hit my head.  
"I'm gonna beat your ass for not listening to me!" He seethed next to my face.  
"Pl-please, n-no," I whimpered out.  
"Shut up!" My mom yelled at me standing next to my dad. "You deserve this so just be quiet and take it!"  
I started crying and whimpering even harder. My dad kept hitting and kicking me and I could faintly hear someone calling my name...  
I woke up with a start and realized that it was Josh who was calling my name. I calmed down when I realized that it was only a dream.   
I lay back down on the bed and shut my eyes tightly, my breathing still a bit rigged. Josh leaned over to me and started to rub my stomach in a soothing manner. I curled up on my side so that I could be closer to him, and he wrapped his arm around me instead. We were both laying on our sides facing each other with my face buried in his chest. My eyes were still clenched tightly when I realized that I was crying. My tears made a wet spot on Josh's shirt, and I guess he felt it cause he pulled me closer to him and started humming gently in my ear. We stayed like that for a while before I calmed down enough and I looked into his eyes. He smiled at me and leaned down to kiss my nose, making me blush.  
"Do you wanna talk about it?" He asked.  
"It was just...my parents. They were beating me up and it just felt so real," I said.   
"I'm so sorry Ty, I wish you never had to go through that," Josh said to me.  
"It's okay," I sniffled. "I have you now, so I guess it's okay," I smiled up at him. He smiled back at me and pulled me back to his chest.   
"Can I kiss you, or is it too early for that?" Josh asked me with his head buried in my hair. I answered him by turning my face and softly pressing my lips against his. He melted into the kiss and I swear I saw sparks. We pulled apart and smiled at each other before he leaned in and kissed me again. This kiss was longer than the first and it was just as amazing. I turned by body so that I was sort of straddling Josh's lap and continued to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around me even tighter and I brought my hands up to his face. It was about 3am and I was having my first kiss after a terrible nightmare, but I wouldn't change how it happened for the world. I really really loved Josh (even if I thought it was too early to say just yet), so any moment with him was special. And I wouldn't trade this moment for the world.  
We continued to kiss until I started to get tired. I dropped my head onto his shoulder and hugged his waist. He laid us both down and I was now laying on top of him with our chests pressed together. My played with my hair, which put me into even further relaxation and I fell asleep within minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think! Have a nice day!


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